COP28 in Abu Dhabi as Abu Dhabi's ruler announced 30 Billion in investments --a sampling of all who were there:
Can an oil-dependent nation lead the fight against global warming? That’s the big question hanging over this year’s COP 28 conference, which is being led by the man who runs the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber. Former Vice President Al Gore has rallied the critics who say selling oil should disqualify one from a leadership position in the climate fight. Recent press reports also excoriate ADNOC for planning to negotiate new oil deals on the sidelines of the confab.
I’ve spent the last week in Abu Dhabi hosting the Fortune Global Forum, with sponsorship from the government, so some may say my hands aren’t clean in this debate. But I think those who argue profit-seeking oil-producing companies can’t play in the climate effort misunderstand the nature of the challenge.
A new report out from the McKinsey Global Institute puts it in helpful perspective. A successful net-zero transition, the report correctly argues, requires achieving not just one objective—eliminating carbon emissions—but four interdependent ones: 1) reducing emissions 2) maintaining affordability 3) ensuring reliability and 4) supporting industrial competitiveness. A strategy that focuses exclusively on No. 1 while ignoring Nos. 2-4 will ultimately fail. And when you consider all four, the role of oil becomes critical—both to power the transition and to provide resources and knowledge for a successful green future.
But beyond that, it’s also clear to me that pursuit of profit will be the most powerful force driving this change. This morning, I’m at the sprawling and somewhat chaotic Expo City Dubai, where COP 28 will be held for the next two weeks. The COP process is designed for government officials, but these days bustles with prominent business leaders. In the last few hours, I’ve seen the CEOs of IBM, BP, Bank of America, Lazard, IKEA, and State Street, whose CEO Ronald O’Hanley captured the zeitgeist of both the event and the challenge when he told attendees: “Transitions are seldom straight lines. They are messy.”
Numerous reports, including the one I cited from McKinsey, have noted that despite all the progress that’s been made, the world is still far off course to reach net zero by 2050 and under some scenarios may not get there until the end of the century. But messy challenges create massive opportunities. When O’Hanley says it will require $2.4 trillion in financing over the next decade, the dollar signs light up in his business listeners’ eyes. These days, the effort to fix the climate is being driven by the profit motive—and that’s a good thing. The proliferation of CEOs at COP—including those from oil companies—makes me more optimistic about the future, not less.
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Digitization and decarbonization go hand in hand. Our strategy is decarbonized growth. We have a 2030 target, and a clear pathway to achieve it.”
— Moosa Al-Moosa, president, Middle East and Turkey for Dow.
“There is no trade-off. I wouldn’t have said this five years ago. But the way we see governments acting, the way we see customers behaving: it make us optimistic.”
— Walid Sheta, president, Middle East and Africa for Schneider Electric.
“The combination between digital adoption and sustainability is unique in building a competitive advantage.”
— Siemens Middle East CEO Helmut von Struve.
While the structural changes underway may not be too little if these transformations continue, they will most likely come too late to prevent global warming and an increase in extreme weather events, participants said.
Earlier this morning, for example, investor Ray Dalio pointed to climate change as one of the five mega-trends shaping the future of the global economy, including the rise and fall of its dominant empire.
“Drought, floods, and pandemics: Climate is a major force,” he told Alan Murray in a wide-ranging interview. “Whatever is done or not done, it’s going to be very costly.”
Faced with this costly reality, author and entrepreneur Parag Khanna suggested it is time for business and government to move from only climate mitigation to a much larger focus on climate adaptation.
“It’s not going to start raining in Mali tomorrow because today you drive more Teslas in France,” Khanna told me. “So it is in many ways unethical to focus only on achieving net zero and ignoring the plight of the billions of people who are already suffering from climate stress today.”
The solution, he suggested, is to “balance out” climate mitigation and adaptation. Today, he said, 95% of efforts go to mitigation. That ratio should tilt much more to adaptation, including among people and businesses in the U.S. or Europe making investment decisions about their own lives and livelihoods.
Remember, he said in a presentation, “The climate is not going to adapt to us. We have to adapt to it.”
I’m Bryce Coon, the Director of Education Initiatives at EARTHDAY.ORG, and I am currently at COP 28 in Dubai where I am championing the importance of climate education. I'm excited to share my recent article, "Environmental Literacy," featured in My Green Pod's COP 28 Issue.
The article delves into the pivotal role of climate education in empowering the next generation to foster environmental stewardship. From Earth Day's historic roots, dating all the way back to 1970, to the present day, we have been advocating for mandatory and universal climate education.
You can check out more cool stuff from EARTHDAY.ORG by diving into other recent articles from our awesome team here:
- Education Week, the world’s leading source for all things education, feature an Op Ed I wrote about why I quit teaching to become a Climate Activist.
- Aidan Charron, our Director of End Plastics Initiatives, writes about the health issues facing babies from microplastic exposure, in a recent piece featured in The Guardian.
We will continue to share more updates about what is happening at COP 28 and we are up to there! Be sure to follow what we are doing in real time on our social media and check out our COP 28 Itinerary. Thank you for your time and commitment to a sustainable future!
Best regards,
Bryce Coon
Director of Education Initiatives
| I’m writing to you from Dubai, which is where COP28—the United Nations’ annual meeting on climate change—is currently taking place. We just wrapped up the first day, and it was an exciting, productive, and inspiring start. The energy in the room was just amazing, especially from the young activists whose passion sets the tone for every COP. |
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I participated in a number of super-interesting sessions today; one of my favorites focused on food security, which the Gates Foundation is tackling head-on as a warming planet threatens to make the issue even worse. It’s remarkable to see how climate adaptation has been elevated at COP in recent years. I’m going to spend a lot of time over the next few days talking about why we need to do more to help the people who are most vulnerable to climate change.
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| I was honored to close out the first day of the conference by addressing COP28 delegates at the World Climate Action Summit. My remarks took place during a session dedicated to the important role business and philanthropic leaders play in fighting climate change—something I recently wrote about for The New York Times. In my speech, I spoke about the need to direct climate investment towards projects that maximize the number of lives impacted. |
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| You can read the full text of my speech on Gates Notes now. (And if you missed my post earlier this week, you can read more about why I’m feeling optimistic about the days ahead at COP28—and about the future—here .) |
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| As always, thanks for being an Insider. |
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